The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health, Baylor College of Medicine (Baylor), health science university and a Texas nonprofit corporation, and the Regional Center for Innovation in Vaccines and Biopharmaceuticals (CRIVB) AIP, a research and development center and product development laboratory established by the government of Panama, have announced a new collaborative relationship to pursue shared global health goals through biopharmaceutical research and training.

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With the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), the three organizations aim to strengthen capabilities in the vaccine sciences and the biopharmaceutical research & development industry in Panama and the greater Latin America region. Through training and other workforce development programs, highlighting key aspects of the biotechnology continuum such as technological transfers, international regulatory requirements, and vaccine product development and manufacturing, the partners look forward to bolstering a holistic and sustainable bio-industry ecosystem in Panama and the region.

Collaborative relationship

Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said: “We are very pleased to enter a collaborative relationship with Baylor and CRIVB AIP. IVI brings to the partnership extensive experience working across the vaccine value chain including technology transfer, and we look forward to combining the diverse range of expertise among our organizations to develop the biopharmaceutical workforce and industry through training and plans for future vaccine manufacturing facilities in Panama.”

“Our Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development at BCM has more than two decades of experience advancing vaccine sciences to tackle tropical and infectious diseases of utmost importance for the people living in the Central American and Caribbean Region,” said Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, Sr. Associate Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. “It is an honor to join forces with IVI and CRIVB AIP and strengthen the local and regional ecosystem for biopharmaceutical development while in parallel train the next generation of vaccine scientists.”

Public health

Dr. Eduardo Ortega Barría, national secretary of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt) of Panama, said: “This tripartite agreement between the International Vaccine Institute, Baylor College of Medicine and the Regional Center for Innovation in Vaccines and Biopharmaceuticals brings us closer to the objective of researching, developing and producing vaccines of interest to public health in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also opens the door for the training of Panamanian scientists in high-tech centers in Korea and the United States of America.”

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